Сиэтл монораілінің кеңейту жобасының тарихы

Proposed expansion of Seattle monorail

The Seattle Monorail Project was a proposed five line monorail system to be constructed in Seattle, Washington, US, as an extension of the existing Seattle Center Monorail. The 14 mile (23 km), 17 station Green Line running from Ballard to West Seattle via Seattle Center would have been the first of the five lines to be built. From 1997 to 2005 the monorail project was a highly contentious political issue in the Seattle area. In November 2005, following the fifth voter initiative on the monorail in eight years, the monorail authority agreed to dissolve itself after having spent $124.7 million in taxpayer funds without beginning any monorail construction.

The effort to extend the monorail began in 1997 with Initiative 41, passed by a 53%–47% vote by Seattle citizens. The initiative proposed a 54 mile (87 km) X shaped monorail system extending the 0.96 mile (2 km) line constructed for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The system's construction and operation was to be carried out by a new agency, the Elevated Transportation Corporation (ETC), using private funding. The ETC quickly determined that private entrepreneurs could not build a monorail system without public financial support, leading to a second monorail referendum placed before voters as Initiative 53 in 2000, which would allow the ETC to spend $6 million for additional studies to determine an improved monorail plan with full cost estimates and a funding package to pay for construction. I 53 passed 56% to 44% in 2000.

The tax to fund the project began effective June 2003, and was levied annually on each car registered in the city based on the MSRP of the vehicle and a fixed depreciation table. In 2005, the average monorail tax per vehicle was $130 annually. The project soon fell under intense public scrutiny, as actual revenue from the motor vehicle excise tax came in 30% under projections while projected costs rose by 10%. To bridge the shortfall, the SMP initially proposed extending the tax and bond repayments over a 50 year time horizon, resulting in nearly $9 billion in interest paid on the $2 billion construction cost. The plan to extend the tax proved highly controversial and five days later the SMP withdrew its financial plan and the director and board chairman resigned under pressure.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels gave the board an ultimatum to create a new financial plan or lose city support for the project. A new plan was not developed, and on September 16, 2005, Nickels withdrew city support for the project. While the city of Seattle could not officially stop the project, it could withhold permission to build on or above city land, as had been proposed under I 83 a year earlier. Nickels also called on the Seattle Monorail Project to put a measure on the November 2005 ballot to determine whether or not to continue with the project, marking the fifth time Seattleites would vote on the issue. This measure shortened the initial phase of the Green Line to 10.6 mile (17 km) with the remaining 3.4 mile (5 km) to be added later, and the SMP said it would dissolve itself if the measure failed. Proposition 1 was defeated, 65% to 35%, and in response the SMP reduced staff, terminated the annual motor vehicle excise tax on Seattle vehicles effective June 30, 2006 (three years after it was first implemented) and began liquidating properties already purchased for the Green Line. The Seattle Monorail Authority was formally dissolved on January 17, 2008, after liquidating all of its assets, repaying its debts, and transferring its remaining $425,963.07 to the King County Metro system. The monorail project ultimately cost Seattle taxpayers $124.7 million.

The plan, as proposed by CP 1 (2002) proposed five distinct corridors based on the Intermediate Capacity Transit Study and prioritized the Green Line, a north–south route on the west side of the city, as the first of the five to be built. The other four lines included two additional north–south routes, in the center (Blue) and east (Gold) sides of the city, and two east west connectors, one just north of the Lake Washington Ship Canal (Purple) and the other near the southern city limits (Red). Two future extensions were proposed to the Green Line, one each on the north and south ends.